Packers cut RB Green, TE Mulligan

Aug. 31, 2013

The Packers cut Alex Green on Saturday.

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The Green Bay Packers released two more veterans on Saturday afternoon in running back Alex Green and tight end Matthew Mulligan, NFL sources confirmed.

A third-round pick in the 2011 draft, Green finished last season as the Packers’ leading rusher, but averaged only 3.4-yards per carry and failed to reach the end zone once on his team-high 135 carries.

Green still led the Packers in preseason rushing with 21 carries for 72 yards, but ended on a low note in Thursday’s preseason finale against Kansas City when he managed only 10 yards on seven carries.

Even with the realization that DuJuan Harris would miss the season with a patellar tendon injury, Green seemed to know the writing was on the wall.

Since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during his rookie season, the 25-year-old back has struggled to regain his explosiveness after being bothered with swelling in the knee late last season.

Of the 10 players the Packers drafted in 2011, only first-round tackle Derek Sherrod, second-round receiver Randall Cobb, fourth-round cornerback Davon House and seventh-round tight end Ryan Taylor are still with the team. Sherrod's career has been postponed due to a broken leg he suffered near the end of his rookie year.

Mulligan was the Packers’ only offseason acquisition with any previous NFL experience and seemed to be an upgrade as a blocker given his 6-foot-4, 267-pound build, but was hampered by an arm injury midway through camp.

With the prior release of veteran D.J. Williams, the move paves the way for the Packers to enter the regular season with a tight end group consisting of Jermichael Finley, Andrew Quarless, Ryan Taylor and Brandon Bostick, a practice-squad holdover from last season.